MacRumors

Last month, a tipster informed MacRumors that Apple had advised major U.S. carriers to prepare for the launch of eSIM-only smartphones by September 2022, suggesting at least one iPhone 14 model might lack a physical nano-SIM card tray.

GlobalData analyst Emma Mohr-McClune today expressed her belief that Apple will not switch to eSIM-only iPhones entirely right away, but rather offer an eSIM-only variant of an iPhone 14 through its own stores and give carriers an option to sell the eSIM-only model alongside more traditional models with both eSIM and a nano-SIM card tray.

There are still many carriers around the world that do not support eSIM, so Mohr-McClune's prediction about iPhone 14 models with nano-SIM card trays remaining available certainly makes sense. eSIM adoption is expanding rapidly, though, with over 100 carriers offering eSIM service worldwide and more planning to roll out support this year, including Three in the UK and Vodafone in New Zealand.

An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows users to activate a cellular plan without having to use a physical nano-SIM card. Apple first introduced eSIM technology with the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR in 2018.

iPhone 13 models already support multiple eSIM profiles, allowing users to subscribe to several cellular plans digitally and switch between them, and this functionality could pave the way for an eSIM-only variant of an iPhone 14 in at least some markets. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 14 lineup in September as usual.

Apple today announced the Black Unity Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch, as well as a new downloadable watch face, to celebrate Black History Month.

Following the launch of the limited edition Black Unity Apple Watch Series 6 and Sport Band in 2021, Apple today launched the Black Unity Braided Solo Loop as part of its celebrations for Black History Month this year.

Apple is launching a special edition Apple Watch Black Unity Braided Solo Loop and matching Unity Lights watch face inspired by Afrofuturism, a philosophy that explores the Black experience through a narrative of science, technology, and self-empowerment. As part of this launch, Apple is supporting organizations focused on advancing inclusion in science and technology for communities of color through its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.

Designed by members and allies of the Black creative community at Apple to celebrate Black history and culture, the Apple Watch Black Unity Braided Solo Loop and matching Unity Lights watch face honors generations of Black people across the African diaspora. This design symbolizes a communal belief in the necessity for a more equitable world. The vibrant red and green colors of the Pan-African flag appear like speckled light across the black band.

To accompany the Black Unity Braided Solo Loop, Apple today released the special edition "Unity Lights" watch face. Like many of Apple's other watch faces, Unity Lights comes in full screen and circular dial versions, and includes a black and white option, tick marks, up to four complications, and a monogram.

The band is complemented by the Unity Lights watch face, which is designed using 2D ray tracing, a technology never before implemented for a watch face. Each pixel on the screen simulates the light and shadow falling across it and the movement of the clock hands simultaneously reveal and hide the light, changing dynamically throughout the day.

The Black Unity Braided Loop is available to order today for $99, and it will be available in select retail store locations starting Tuesday, February 1. The Unity Lights watch face is available to all Apple Watch users with a Series 4 or newer in the Apple Watch app. Apple is also making a range of Afrofuturism-inspired wallpapers for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac available on its website.

The Black Unity Braided Solo Loop and Unity Lights face celebrate Black History Month alongside a number of other events across Apple's services and platforms, including a campaign on Apple Music and ‌Apple Music‌ TV, workouts in Apple Fitness+ and Time to Walk, Apple Podcasts, the App Store, Apple Books, Apple Maps, the Apple TV app, Apple News, and the company's latest Shot on ‌iPhone‌ campaign titled "Our Stories."

Apple became the top smartphone brand in China for the first time in six years in the fourth quarter of 2021, Counterpoint Research reports.

While smartphone sales in China declined nine percent year on year for the third consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of 2021, and smartphone sales declined two percent in 2021 for the fourth consecutive year, Apple finally surpassed Vivo to become the country's top smartphone brand. In total, Apple captured 23 percent of the Chinese smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2021, its highest ever market share in the country.

The Chinese homegrown brands Vivo, Oppo, Honor, and Xiaomi took second, third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively. Counterpoint Research analyst Mengmeng Zhang commented:

Apple's stellar performance was driven by a mix of its pricing strategy and gain from Huawei's premium base. Apple rose to first place in China right after the iPhone 13 was released (week 39) in September. Afterwards, it remained in the leading position for most of the fourth quarter. The new iPhone 13 has led the success due to a relatively lower starting price at its release in China, as well as the new camera and 5G features. Furthermore, Huawei, Apple's main competitor in the premium market, faced declining sales due to the ongoing U.S. sanctions.

The fourth quarter of 2021 was the first time Apple has been the top smartphone brand in China since the fourth quarter of 2015, when the iPhone 6's upgrade supercycle was at its height. Counterpoint says that Apple's success at the premium end of the market will encourage Chinese brands to strengthen their offerings in this segment.

Samsung is set to hold its first "Unpacked" event of the year on Wednesday, February 9, and the South Korean company is expected to unveil new flagship smartphones that will compete with Apple's iPhone 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro models released in September.

"Join us as we break the rules to set the epic standard," reads Samsung's tweet about the event. An included graphic references the S22, which is the next-generation device that we're likely to see launch. Samsung's YouTube video also mentions breaking "through the night," suggesting camera improvements.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 lineup is expected to feature a trio of devices in size options that will be mostly on par with the 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini, the 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ 13 and 13 Pro, and the 6.7-inch ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max. Samsung is working on an 6.1-inch S22, a 6.5-inch S22 Plus, and a 6.8-inch S22 Ultra.

Multiple leaks, rumors, and mockups have provided insight into what we can expect from Samsung's newest smartphones. The two smaller smartphones will feature rounded corners and triple-lens cameras, and the high-end flagship will have a boxier design similar to the Galaxy Note, a built-in S-Pen holder, and a four-lens camera setup.

Samsung's updates are expected to be fairly modest, but the two more affordable smartphones will offer updated 50-megapixel main cameras plus ultra wide and telephoto lenses. We are expecting Apple to add 48-megapixel cameras to the iPhone 14 Pro models, but as of right now, Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 13 camera lenses are 12 megapixels.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra could have a 108-megapixel main camera with a Super Clear lens for reduced glare and reflections, plus an ultra wide lens, a telephoto lens, and a periscope lens for zoomed in shots. Apple is working on periscope lens technology, but rumors suggest a periscope lens won't come to the ‌iPhone‌ until 2023.

Hole-punch camera designs are expected for the front display of the S22 lineup, as are new body colors and performance improvements. We'll learn more about how Samsung's new flagship smartphones compare to Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 13 devices when February 9 rolls around.

Apple today released a firmware update for the Beats Studio Buds, and MacRumors has since learned about several new features that were added to Apple's $150 Noise Cancelling earbuds, including instant pairing, easier access to battery status, and more control over volume.

After installing the new firmware, Beats Studio Buds owners have access to instant pairing with all of the Apple devices tied to a user's iCloud account. On Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and TV, pairing can now be done with a single tap.

When holding the Beats Studio Buds case near an ‌iPhone‌, there's now a battery pop-up that displays the current battery life of both the earbuds and the case right on the Home screen, similar to how AirPods function.

Apple has also added a new volume customization option for the "b" button on the Studio Buds. It can be configured to control volume up/down using either the iOS Bluetooth menu or the Beats app for Android devices.

In addition to these changes, Apple this week introduced product personalization for the Beats Fit Pro and the Powerbeats Pro. When ordering these devices from the Apple website, there is now an option to add an engraving on the charging case.

Dropbox today announced that users who update to macOS 12.3 once that software version becomes available may temporarily encounter issues with opening online-only files in some third-party apps on their Mac.

In a support document and an email to customers, Dropbox said it is actively working on full support for online-only files on macOS 12.3 and will begin rolling out an updated version of its Mac app to beta testers in March. In the meantime, Dropbox users who update to macOS 12.3 will still be able to open online-only files in Finder.

Dropbox did not provide any further details, but Microsoft recently said macOS 12.2 will be the last version that supports its own cloud storage service OneDrive's current online-only files implementation. Microsoft said OneDrive will be getting a new online-only files experience that is "more integrated with macOS" and "will have long-term support from Apple," adding that the current version is built on several technologies that are "now deprecated."

Altogether, it appears likely that Apple has given cloud storage services like Dropbox and OneDrive advanced notice about system-level changes that will affect online-only files starting with macOS 12.3. We've reached out to Apple and Dropbox for further details, but so far have not received any additional information.

Apple will likely release macOS 12.2 within the next week or so, and then macOS 12.3 beta testing should begin shortly after that.

(Thanks, Brad!)

Apple today released a new 10M359 firmware update for the Beats Studio Buds that came out back in June. Prior to today's firmware update, the Beats Studio Buds had 9M6599 software installed. Note that this is Apple's internal numbering, and the firmware version seen in the Settings app can be different and will likely show up as 1B56 after updating.

There's no standard way to upgrade the ‌Beats‌‌ software, but firmware is generally installed over-the-air while the earbuds are connected to an iOS device. Putting the Beats Studio Buds‌‌‌‌‌ in the case, connecting them to a power source, and then pairing them‌‌‌‌‌ to an iPhone or an iPad should force the update after a short period of time.

Beats Studio Buds were the first Beats-branded earbuds to compete with the AirPods with a wire-free design and no earhook. Beats Studio Buds are similar in design to the AirPods Pro and feature Active Noise Cancellation, but the earbuds have a stemless design that we could see in future Apple products.

If we find notable changes after the firmware updates are installed, we'll share details, but the software likely includes performance improvements and bug fixes.

Apple has two new Apple Watch Activity Challenges on the horizon, one of which will celebrate Lunar New Year and one that will celebrate Black History Month.

For the Lunar New Year, Apple is asking Apple Watch owners to do any workout for at least 20 minutes between February 1 and February 15 to win the award. It is not clear if this is a worldwide challenge or a challenge that will be limited to countries where Lunar New Year is celebrated.

Apple Watch owners can earn the "Unity" award in honor of Black History Month by closing their Move ring seven days in a row in February.

As with all of Apple's Activity Challenges, the New Year challenge will be accompanied by an award that can be viewed in the Fitness app as well as a series of animated stickers that can be used in the Messages app.

Nvidia is no longer planning to acquire chip maker Arm after failing to win approval for the venture, reports Bloomberg. Nvidia will "quietly" abandon the purchase because it has made no progress in gaining support from regulators and is facing an FTC lawsuit blocking the deal.

Nvidia in September 2020 announced plans to purchase Arm from SoftBank for $40 billion, but it was clear from the beginning that the purchase would be subject to regulatory scrutiny as Nvidia is a customer of Arm and Arm has many licensing deals with Nvidia competitors.

In December 2021, the United States Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to prevent Nvidia from acquiring Arm as the purchase would give Nvidia control over computing technology and designs that rival firms rely on to develop competing chips. The FTC said that allowing the acquisition to move forward would stifle "innovative next-generation technologies" and would "unfairly undermine" Nvidia's competitors.

Chipmaker Qualcomm was one of the Nvidia competitors that objected to the purchase, and in February 2021, the San Diego-based company told the FTC, the European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and China's State Administration for Market Regulation that the acquisition would allow Nvidia to become the gatekeeper for Arm's technology, preventing other chipmakers from using it.

With the deal looking unlikely to be approved, Nvidia is now telling partners that it does not expect the transaction to close. SoftBank is preparing for an initial public offering in case the Nvidia takeover does not happen, but Bloomberg says that both companies are continuing to speak with regulators at this time in the hopes that something might change.

Apple today shared an updated Personal Safety User Guide that serves as a resource for anyone who is concerned about or experiencing technology-enabled abuse, stalking, or harassment, the company said. The new guide is available on Apple's website, complete with a table of contents and a search tool, and as a downloadable PDF.

The guide outlines the personal safety features that are built into Apple devices, with a new section added for the AirTag following recent news stories about Apple's small item tracking accessory being used to track people without their permission.

While much of the information in the guide may be common knowledge to experienced Apple users, it is still a worthwhile read, with helpful tips for controlling who can access your location, blocking unknown sign-in attempts, avoiding fraudulent requests to share info, setting up two-factor authentication, managing privacy settings, and more.

Offering quick checklists and in-depth feature tasks, this resource is designed to help customers experiencing technology-enabled abuse, stalking, or harassment understand the options available across the Apple ecosystem that can help you protect your personal safety. It includes step-by-step instructions on how to remove someone's access to information you previously granted—like location data in the Find My app, meetings you've shared in Calendar, and more. It also highlights features You can use to enhance your personal safety—like how to automatically let a friend know when you've arrived home safely and how to quickly engage Emergency SOS.

Apple said the guide will continue to be updated on a regular basis, so it may be worth bookmarking to stay up to date with the latest personal safety tips.

Back in October, Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle an ongoing class action lawsuit that accused the company of violating various U.S. laws and regulations by providing customers with refurbished replacement devices instead of new devices when repairs were required under AppleCare.

Administrators handling the case have now updated the "Replacement Device Lawsuit" website with details on the settlement, and have started sending out emails to customers who might be eligible for a payment after the settlement is finalized.

Customers who purchased an ‌AppleCare‌ Protection Plan or ‌AppleCare‌+ for an iPhone or iPad between July 20, 2012 and September, 30, 2021 and who received a refurbished replacement device from Apple are included in the lawsuit.

Apple's Repair Terms and Conditions in the United States make it clear that the company might use "parts or products that are new or refurbished and equivalent to new in performance and reliability" when repairing or replacing a device, but the lawsuit claimed that refurbished devices are "not equivalent to new in performance and reliability."

The lawsuit was seeking compensation for ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and iPod owners who purchased ‌AppleCare‌ or ‌AppleCare‌+ coverage and were unhappy with receiving an "inferior" refurbished device instead of a device that works "like new."

Apple has opted to settle the lawsuit with a $95 million payment because it has already spanned six years and would only result in additional legal fees, but the company has admitted no wrong doing and "vigorously" denies that refurbished devices are inferior to new devices.

The $95 million settlement has already received preliminary approval, and Apple customers now have an option to exclude themselves from the settlement or object, which can be done on the lawsuit website. The website also includes a form for those who are interested in making sure that they're included in the settlement.

A final fairness hearing is set to take place on April 27, 2022, and after that is when class members can expect to begin receiving payments. After attorneys' fees and other expenses, the class members could receive somewhere between $63.4 million and $68.1 million, with that amount split up between those affected.

(Thanks, Daniel!)

iOS 15 and watchOS 8 introduce the ability to add hotel room keys to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, allowing you to gain access to your room, elevators, and other locked areas by simply tapping your iPhone or Apple Watch against a card reader. The feature eliminates the need for a traditional plastic room card.

Last month, hotel chain Hyatt became the first to adopt the feature at six U.S. locations, including Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa, Hyatt House Chicago/West Loop-Fulton Market, Hyatt House Dallas/Richardson, Hyatt Place Fremont/Silicon Valley, and Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

KTLA's Rich DeMuro recently visited the Long Beach location to test the feature, as seen in a video spotted by the blog Appleosophy.

Using the Hyatt app, hotel guests can add their room key to the Wallet app after completing a reservation, and they will be notified when check-in time arrives. Once a guest is checked in and the room is ready, the room key in the Wallet app will be activated for immediate use and display the guest's room number and reservation length.

DeMuro tested the feature with Express Mode enabled, meaning that the iPhone does not need to be unlocked in order to be used as a hotel room key. The process was quick and seamless, allowing him to gain access to his room and the elevator in a split second. Express Mode can be disabled for users who prefer an added layer of security.

Should the ‌iPhone‌ run out of battery, an automatic Power Reserve feature allows the device to be used as a hotel key for up to five hours.

Hotel room keys in the Wallet app are both convenient and can provide for a contactless experience. If a Hyatt guest needs to change rooms, extend a stay, or request a late check out, the hotel can update the guest's room key in the Wallet app remotely, eliminating the need for the guest to visit the front desk. When it's time to check out, guests can do so through the Hyatt app, and the room key will be remotely deactivated.

Hyatt plans to roll out hotel room keys in the Wallet app globally over time, and other hotel chains will likely follow suit, but the feature remains limited for now.

Spotify has still not enabled AirPlay 2 in its iPhone and iPad app, nearly six months after last promising to support the feature.

"Spotify will support AirPlay 2 and we're working to make that a reality," a Spotify spokesperson informed MacRumors in early August, in response to a Spotify Community forum post that said the company had paused plans to support the feature.

The streaming music provider has not provided an update on its AirPlay 2 plans since, and it did not respond to requests for comment this week.

Apple launched AirPlay 2 in 2018 with several improvements over the original version of AirPlay, including support for multi-room audio, Siri voice control, and improved buffering. Apple is not preventing Spotify from supporting AirPlay 2 and offers documentation on its developer website for apps that wish to implement the feature.

Spotify also still does not natively support the HomePod or HomePod mini, despite Apple opening up the speakers to third-party music services in 2020. This is despite Spotify filing a complaint against Apple with the European Commission in March 2019 that accused the iPhone maker of locking Spotify out of platforms like the HomePod and Siri.

Amazon has dropped the price of the 2021 32GB Apple TV 4K, available for $159.99, down from $179.00. This discount will be seen after a $10 coupon is automatically applied at the checkout screen.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

The Apple TV 4K is available for the usual free Prime shipping options, and it's in stock and ready to ship today. Amazon's sale is a solid second-best price on this Apple TV 4K, coming about $10 behind the record low price we saw over the holidays.

You can also get the 64GB Apple TV 4K for $189.98, down from $199.00. We've seen this Apple TV 4K discounted by an additional $10, so this sale is a second-best price. This model is also sold by Amazon, and it's in stock and ready to ship today.

Although the sales on these Apple TV models aren't particularly steep, they are the best offers around and worth checking out if you're still on the market for the newest Apple TV 4K. You can keep an eye out on Apple TV deals in our Best Apple TV 4K Deals guide.

Telsa car owners who have auto insurance through the electric vehicle company are now able to link their Tesla insurance cards directly to Apple Wallet, providing more accessible access to the cards on the iPhone and Apple Watch.

As part of an update to the Tesla app yesterday on the App Store, the company has introduced support for Apple Wallet into its app. Tesla car owners will be able to add their insurance card to Apple Wallet by heading into the app, tapping their profile photo, heading into Account, Insurance, Manage Tabs, and Documents.

Tesla launched its own insurance offerings in California several years ago, and began to expand to additional states late last year. Tesla insurance is now available in a handful of states, with the company saying it hopes to offer it in most U.S. states by the end of the year as it gains approval on a state-by-state basis.

In states other than California, Tesla offers insurance based on real-time collection of driving data, determining premiums by factoring in how much you drive and a Safety Score that incorporates five different factors to gauge how safely you drive.

The Tesla app can be found for free on the ‌App Store‌ [Direct Link].

Apple will report its earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2021 on Thursday, and it could be the best quarter in the company's history.

Wall Street analysts on average estimate that Apple will report revenue of $118.3 billion for the quarter, according to Yahoo Finance. This figure would be an all-time quarterly revenue record for Apple, topping the $111.4 billion that it earned in the year-ago quarter.

New products on sale during the fourth quarter included iPhone 13 models, Apple Watch Series 7 models, the sixth-generation iPad mini, the ninth-generation iPad, third-generation AirPods, and redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. Apple also made the HomePod mini available in three new colors and released a polishing cloth.

Apple has reported strong earnings results throughout the pandemic, as its devices and services have been in especially high demand as more people have worked, learned, and connected with others remotely over the last two years.

Apple will report its earnings results on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. A conference call with Apple's CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will follow at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. As usual during the pandemic, Apple did not provide its own guidance for the quarter.

Apple today announced the 2022 "Shot on iPhone" challenge, encouraging users to submit impressive photos shot with the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max's macro mode.

To enter, users must share their macro photos on Instagram, Twitter, or Weibo with the hashtags #ShotoniPhone and #iPhonemacrochallenge. In the caption, users should note which model they used to capture the image. Apple is also accepting entries via email at shotoniphone@apple.com.

Entrants can submit unedited macro photos straight from the camera app, but photos edited through Apple's Photos app or third-party software will also be accepted. Participants must be 18 years of age or older, and the challenge is not open to Apple employees or their immediate families.

• iPhone 13 Pro: How to Shoot Macro Photography

When submissions close, a panel of expert judges will review the photos from around the world and select 10 winning entries. Winning photos will be celebrated on Apple's Newsroom, website, Instagram account, and more. Apple also said that winning photos may appear in the company's digital campaigns, such as in Apple Stores or on advertising billboards.

Submissions are open from today until February 16, 2022. Winners will be notified on or close to April 12, 2022.

The Indian government is planning to incentivize the creation of an "indigenous" mobile operating system to rival iOS and Android, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has announced (via The Economic Times).

The proposal, announced on Monday by Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, will encourage the technology industry to create a homegrown Indian mobile OS. The new OS is explicitly intended to "create an alternative to iOS and Android" in India. Chandrasekhar noted that iOS and Android drive the development of hardware ecosystems, which is something that the government hopes the new platform will mirror, giving an Indian brand space to grow.

The Indian government is in the process of looking for suitable startups and academic institutions that are capable of developing a new OS. Detailed discussions are currently focusing on establishing clear goals for the project, which will be followed by legislation to target specific development aims. Chandrasekhar hinted that start-ups and companies working on an Indian OS may be attractive to domestic and foreign investment when raising capital.

The project fits in with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aim to create domestic leaders across multiple industries and product categories, as well as bolster the country's technology industry. The Indian government has unveiled a roadmap to achieve $300 billion worth of electronics manufacturing in the country by 2026, up from $75 billion currently. Likewise, the country hopes to achieve $120 billion in electronics exports, up from $15 billion at present.

India is an increasingly important market to Apple, but it continues to face fierce competition from Android devices in the country. Apple has steadily increased the number of its devices manufactured in India, with up to 70 percent of all iPhones sold in the country being made there.

Following the launch of the Apple's online store in India in 2020, the iPhone 11 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 were believed to be the bestselling smartphones in India. Mass production of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 in India is set to start next month and the country's first retail store is also on the way.